AZ-305 Design data storage solutions Practice Question
This AZ-305 practice question tests your understanding of design data storage solutions. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Your company uses Azure SQL Database and needs to archive data older than 7 years for compliance. The archived data must be stored in the most cost-effective manner, must be immutable, and must be deleted exactly after 10 years. What should you use?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Azure Blob Storage with immutable storage and time-based retention policy
Azure Blob Storage with immutable storage and a time-based retention policy ensures that archived data cannot be modified or deleted until the specified retention period expires. This meets the compliance requirements for immutability and a 10-year deletion timeline, while blob storage tiers (e.g., cool or archive) can be used for cost-effective long-term storage.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Azure Archive Storage with lifecycle management to delete after 10 years
Why it's wrong here
Archive Storage is cost-effective but does not provide immutability.
✓
Azure Blob Storage with immutable storage and time-based retention policy
Why this is correct
Immutable storage enforces write-once-read-many (WORM) and time-based retention ensures deletion after 10 years.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Azure SQL Database restore to a point in time with a retention period of 10 years
Why it's wrong here
Azure SQL Database does not support 10-year point-in-time restore.
LTR backups are not immutable and do not provide automatic deletion after 10 years.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Azure Archive Storage's low cost with immutability, failing to realize that immutability requires a separate WORM policy, which Archive Storage does not inherently provide.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Immutable storage in Azure Blob Storage uses a WORM (Write Once, Read Many) policy enforced at the container or blob level via a time-based retention policy, which locks the data against any modifications or deletions until the retention period expires. Under the hood, this policy is enforced by the Azure Storage service, which rejects any PUT, DELETE, or overwrite operations on the blob while the retention lock is active. In a real-world scenario, this is critical for industries like healthcare or finance where regulatory compliance (e.g., SEC 17a-4) requires data to be preserved in an unalterable state for a fixed duration.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-305 question in full detail.
Design data storage solutions — This question tests Design data storage solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Azure Blob Storage with immutable storage and time-based retention policy — Azure Blob Storage with immutable storage and a time-based retention policy ensures that archived data cannot be modified or deleted until the specified retention period expires. This meets the compliance requirements for immutability and a 10-year deletion timeline, while blob storage tiers (e.g., cool or archive) can be used for cost-effective long-term storage.
What should I do if I get this AZ-305 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
This AZ-305 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the AZ-305 exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.